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Mineral PhotographyWild M8 stereozoom microscope pros & cons anyone?

19th May 2014 10:16 UTCJay I. G. Roland

This is an edited version of a post I made two days ago on a different but related topic. Reposted here for clarity.

I really would appreciate some advice on a particular 'scope that I have been offered from a pal, in fact the very pal who got me involved in minerals and micromounts in the first place a mere 3 months ago, so therefore it must be understood that I am a beginner in this field.

He has offered to sell me a Wild M8 stereozoom 'scope in perfect condition and recently serviced. I gather that Leica/Wild make/made many 'scopes and wonder where this particular model fits in their lineup. Having typed in 'Wild M8' on good old Google Images I see plenty of 'scopes that claim to be M8s, yet I doubt I have seen any two that look the same....why would this be?

I am told it has a 1x objective and gives mag from circa 6x to 50x with 10x oculars which would suit me fine. Does anyone out there have any experience with this particular model at all? If so then I would love to hear from you. I am itching to see and try out the device but have to wait until next week!

I shall be comparing it alongside my Brunel MX7T (Chinese made) 'scope and I fully expect to see an improvement in overall image quality. That is not to say my Brunel is a bad 'scope, far from it. For the money paid (circa £150) about three months ago I am well impressed, I just wonder how much of an improvement the M8 will offer.

I believe I shall have the option of a 'photo head' and as my interests also lie in this direction (hence my original post) then I shall likely take up this offer once I find out how much it will add to the overall cost.

All thoughts, opinions (good or bad) or musings will be much appreciated.

Regards,

Jay.

19th May 2014 12:27 UTCDale Foster Manager

I can't comment on the M8 model as not used one, but, earlier in the year I bought a used Wild M5 from a local microscope specialist in Cornwall.

Rather than being a zoom it varies magnification on a drum, with 6x / 12x / 25x / 50x available. Prior to this I had a fixed 20x mag Chinese made microscope and an elderly Russian 8.75x scope. The difference with the Wild is like night and day. The optics are excellent and I find them far easier to use for extended periods.

I think the variance in the pictures of M8's would stem from the design being modular so it can be built to suit requirements in terms of stands etc.

20th May 2014 11:32 UTCJay I. G. Roland

Thank you Dale for your input. I do wonder if the microscope specialist you mention might be the very chap that serviced the M8 that I describe, and indeed would be the one who sells me the photo head should I go for that option. The seller of the 'scope and he are great pals by all accounts.

"Diference like night and day"...well that is pleasing to hear I have to say. As I mentioned, my Brunel (20x & 40x mag) is a perfectly adequate 'scope, it is just that as this offer has been made I should at the very least look into it and if it is as good as I am starting to find out then I may well have to purchase it.

I shall let you know how the viewing/testing goes.

Regards,

Jay.

20th May 2014 14:22 UTCDale Foster Manager

I got my Wild from Nigel over in Perranporth. Your friend wouldn't perchance to be Chris near Truro?

20th May 2014 15:13 UTCJay I. G. Roland

Hello again Dale, yes, 10 out of 10 on both counts!

It was actually Chris that got me interested in MMs when he and Nigel came to one of our monthly KMS group meetings at Chacewater circa February (I had only joined late last year) and gave a presentation on micromounting and minerals in general.

It was something that I had never considered looking at down a 'scope before. As I only had my compound 'scope and a very cheap/basic stereoscope at the time I then invested in the Brunel 'scope already mentioned.

The bug had certainly bitten! At the presentation Chris had many MM specimens for sale so I picked out 20 that looked interesting to the naked eye and was pretty gobsmacked to view them with first my basic then my Brunel 'scopes.

I have since been to visit Chris a couple of times and what a chap he is! Very knowledgable and helpful to boot. I am over Greenbottom on Tuesday next to see and try out the M8 so will mention that we have 'chatted'.

As for Nigel, I am about to call him re the photo head to find out if I am able to afford it, otherwise it will be a case of sticking to afocal photography via one of the eyetubes for the time being.

As per the rock trimmer (seperate post) it is of course Chris who is loaning me his smaller trimmer and of course I shall be taking measurements and photographs just in case I can find someone to knock me one up. Actually I do already possess a couple of useful components that would aid construction, firstly I cannibalised my fruit press and now have a very sturdy iron top bar with threaded stem and 'T' bar handle. I also have a length of quality carbon steel cutter courtesy of my days working at E. Thomas (Ponsanooth) that would make several chisels for the trimmer.

So failing to find a seller of a trimmer I will have to go the other route. 20 years ago I might well have attempted the build myself but now I feeel it ought be left to more able hands. I have in mind a pal who until recently was the village blacksmith (Mawnan Smith) but has now bought a quarry at Longdowns and intends to set up some sort of workshop there, so a word in his ear and a few beers might just persuade him to take on the project.

Regards,

Jay.

20th May 2014 17:34 UTCChristian Auer 🌟 Expert

I`ve been using a Wild M8 now for many years and almost on a daily basis. Its an absolutely brilliant scope, its the Rolls Royce under the scopes.

Just be sure that it has the 1x PLAN objective; if not I wouldn`t take it. There are several second hand scope shops on the net and you will find one with the Plan objective for sure.

You can use the M8 also for micro photographing although I changed a while ago to the photomacroscope M420, which is NO stereo microscope. The combination M8 and M420 is the best, at least what I can afford.

20th May 2014 17:51 UTCJay I. G. Roland

Hi Christian, thanks for your comments. I have been assured it has the 1x plan objective and 10x oculars. Your comment and others that I have heard on here and elsewhere convince me that I really ought buy this 'scope. It is rather more expensive than I would have hoped but of course good quality equipment always costs good money, so not only a great 'scope but a good investment. Also it was fully serviced by a qualified technician within the last 2 months and given the all clear which is a bonus I reckon.

Regards,

Jay.

20th May 2014 19:05 UTCHarald Schillhammer Expert

Christian Auer Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> its the Rolls Royce under the

> scopes.

I would say it's an older Rolls Royce model :), but, as with RR, still excellent and more than up to the task for most pruposes. In my lab I use an M5 and M10, and I used the MZ16 for photography some time ago. My wife has the real RR, the M205. Both the 16 and the 205 are in a different league than the M5 to M10 series, unfortunately also price-wise (10.000+ EUROs).

However, as superb as they are (even the newer state-of-art models), I will never again use them for photography. Leica still has not solved the CA-problem with their relay lenses.

13th Feb 2015 23:27 UTCMario Recchia

Hi

I started collecting stereo zooms several years ago and now have about 20 top scopes to look through, its interesting to see the different comments but I will add my view here. The Wild microscopes are in my view are world class not only for there optics but in their build quality. I have compared the wild microscopes to new Leica MZ7.5 etc and the latest Leica have a slightly brighter view and an increased field of vision which may seem like an improvement however if you look at very fine detail with good lighting there is no difference and if you do not need the slight improvement in the field of view my advice would be to stick to the original Wild Heerbrugg models. The only Wild stereo I have been disappointed with is the original M3 which was inferior the the later M3B,M3C and M3Z.. Its important that the optics are clean and well aligned and the Wild M8 is a superb scope the optics are world class and in my view match the latest Leica optics (with the exception of a little brightness and slightly less field of view) with the added advantage that they will last a lifetime with reasonable use and they are easy to maintain. The new Leica stereo scopes are NOT built to the superb standard of the original Wild scopes. I understand that the new Leica M series optics are still made in the original Wild Heerbrugg factory in Switzerland.

Mario Recchia

29th May 2019 11:02 UTCSteve Rust Manager

Finally brought a Wild M8 about 2 months ago (March 2019), it knocks spots off the one I have been getting along with.

I now use the old stereo for pre-inspection on stuff I have broken up for micros, and only use the Wild for clean boxed micros.

29th May 2019 12:11 UTCCecil Cosse

Hey,

Wish I could comment sanely as I have a M3Z, but never use it as I now have and use a Nikon SMZ1000. I, also, have all kinds of accessories for the Wild. Geez, I need to go through the cabinets to re-discover exactly what I have. Anyway, if I remember correctly, there was nothing bad about my M3Z except that the working distance was too much shorter than the Nikon. How is your working distance? Do you like it? How do get light on specimens? I have that attachable light system for the M3Z, but it is pretty worthless. Like Mario Reechia, I have several scopes with a ton of lens / eyepieces, some fairly uncommon.

Well, enjoy your new toy!

Cecil

29th May 2019 17:38 UTCKevin Hean

Hi Steve,

You will NOT be sorry. It is built like a Tank and has superb optics. :-)

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